People generally misunderstand various sayings of Christ (not knowing His Voice); and therefore, they generally draw false inferences based upon what He said, or rather, based upon their confused notions of what He said.** Christ often would ask a question of His own (taking control of the conversation), rather than answer a question posed to Him,* and the listeners’ ignorance in Christ’s day (even as most Bible readers’ today) caused them to drop the issue, falsely assuming that Christ actually answered their question, and falsely assuming that Christ’s words meant the opposite of what He actually said.
[* —employing the Socratic dialectic, either to lead His sheep to the green pasture where they were to feed themselves, or to trip up His enemies who were not asking to learn truth, but only as a means by which to entrap Him and falsely accuse Him.
** Christ spoke only in parables in public because of the mixed multitude, and because the Truth was only meant for the elect of His people (Matthew 13:10,11). In fact, Christ also at times spoke “hard sayings” that would offend / turn off some people so that they would stop following Him (John 6:60-66). He knew from the beginning who were to believe and who were not, not with passive knowledge (God is not passive, a mere spectator; He is not reactive: He is Immutable), but because God in Christ, before the foundation of the world chose the elect of His people (Ephesians 1:4,5). The universe is God‘s. He is Sovereign, Perfect, Holy, and Right. Those who think they have the brains and the authority to judge what God determines to do with that which is His (Matthew 20:15) are antichrist.]
Understand, when Christ asked (rhetorically), “Why call ye Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not the things I say?”, the implied answer was, “—because I am not your Lord”. Similarly, Christ said “My sheep know My Voice and follow [obey] Me... the voice of a stranger they will not follow”. Thus, the clear inference of why some believe the very opposite of what Christ said*... is “—because ye are not My sheep; which is evident in that they don‘t know His Voice, which is why they follow the voice of strangers”.
[* —such as thinking that Jesus abolished God‘s Law, when He emphatically declared the very opposite and He even said, “THINK NOT that I am come to destroy the Law... I am NOT... not one jot or tittle shall pass from the Law”. Why then do the majority of “Christians” believe the very opposite of what Christ clearly said...? —because they don‘t know His Voice because they are not His sheep; and because they are not His sheep and He is not their Lord, they will reject the only true answer (which would require repentance and obedience) and instead they attempt to invent any other “plausible” humanistic (pseudo-spiritual) reason, rather than confess and submit to the Word of God. They are humanists. They follow their own “thoughts and ways” and their own pleasure as the litmus test for what they believe as Biblical “truth”. Such are antichrist. An honorable son or servant does not “pick and choose” which of the father‘s or master‘s rules he will obey. Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30). You cannot be with / for Christ and reject what He commanded. “Why call ye Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, and do not thing things I say?” You cannot ”love” God if you hate His Law, which is an extention of His Mind / Will. If Christ is gathering His sheep, and you are gathering serpents, wolves, dogs, and swine... —you are against Him and working against Him and attempting to undo His Work and scattering what He is gathering.]
When Christ said to the Edomite Pharisees, “Ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Hell?” this was another rhetorical question, the answer being, “—ye cannot”.
When someone, in addressing a question to Jesus, called Him, “Good Master”, Christ replied, “Why callest thou Me, ‘Good’, there is but One Good, that is, God”. Understand. Christ did not say, “I am not Good”. The logical implication, therefore, of what He said and did not say is, “I am God”. The syllogism would be:
You call Me Good. [This I do not deny.]
There is only One Who is Good, that is, God.
Therefore I am God.
In one case a man came to Christ and asked Christ to make his brother divide the inheritance with him, Christ replied, “Man, who made Me judge of you?” The nondiscerning reader will falsely assume that Christ was saying, “I am not your judge.” However, the actual answer to Christ‘s question was, “God the Father made Me judge of you”. Christ said in Matthew 28:18: “All Power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth.” II Timothy 4:1 says, “...the Lord Christ Jesus, Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His Appearing and His Kingdom...” and II Corinthians 5:10: “...we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ” and John 5:22 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all Judgment unto the Son”.
Christ indeed had the Authority to act as Judge; whether or not He would exercise it in any given moment was the question.
Who gave Christ Authority to chase, physically, with a whip, the moneylenders out of the temple and forcefully overthrow their tables?
[Why does Christians’ thinking not generalize? that is, why are they content to have “spiritual compartmentalized thought” instead of noticing parallels and relationships and ultimate conclusions and harmony of one passage in Scripture to the rest of Scripture?]
The woman “caught” (that is “entrapped”) in adultery* was brought to Christ. Did Christ then say, “Who made Me judge of this woman?”...? No. Why not? He was judge. Christ is Creator and Lawgiver and Judge of all His Creation (and that Creation is everything that is not God). God determined at that specific time for Christ to exercise His Authority and expose the Pharisees in their own corrupt game (which was the purpose for which they entrapped the woman and dragged her across town and threw her at Christ's Feet); the result being that they slithered away in fear and shame (for if their own adulteries were exposed,** they themselves could be stoned to death).
[* —and where was the man? a woman cannot commit adultery all by herself! There was no crime, the Pharisees could actually have proved no crime, without an “adulterer” in addition to the adulteress. Yes, in the mouth of two or three witnesses let the matter be established—but you also need the evidence of the crime, if the crime involved another person or a victim: a corpus delecti or an accomplice. This itself is evidence of entrapment. Actually, these Pharisees themselves should have been stoned to death, not merely for their own adulteries, but for their false accusation (Deuteronomy 19:16-19) of this woman (and it was a false accusation if they could not prove it, which they could not without the man with whom she allegedly committed adultery—who also would be stoned to death with her).
** I believe what Christ wrote in the sand were two rows of names: the first row the name of each Pharisee accuser there, and the next row the names of some of the women with whom they themselves had committed or were still in the process of committing adultery. What a shock when the Pharisees saw the names of those women so close to their own names!]
But Christ often sidestepped questions and issues because it was not God’s Will to reveal Christ’s Identity (as Messiah / Redeemer and the Son of God—God Himself) to all, and not at that time, or in that manner. When the Edomite Pharisees attempted to entrap Christ, He sidestepped the question and asked another question.
Once (in Mark 11) the evil Pharisees asked Jesus by what Authority He did all that He did. Christ said that He would answer their question if they would first answer His. He then asked whether John the Baptist was merely a man or a Prophet of God. They realized they were trapped (see the passage if you don’t know why) and answered, “We cannot tell”. So Jesus, replied, “Neither tell I you”.
Christ likewise sidestepped a question, asked a question of His own, and then made a statement that did not answer their question at all, when they asked Him why His disciples did not pay the Roman tax (trying to elicit a means of falsely accusing Him of insurrection against Rome—for if they could not invent a false reason of His “guilt” against God, they would invent one against Caesar: if He would just step into the trap and say something that they could then twist and falsely represent in accusation against Him, appealing to the Roman authorities directly). Christ replied, “Show Me a coin”. They did, and He asked, “Whose superscription [image, likeness, picture] is on it?” They replied, “Caesar’s”. He then said, “Give therefore that which is Caesar’s to Caesar and unto God that which is God’s.” They marvelled at His reply because of their own ignorance (in that He again had stumped them).
But what did Christ really say?
First of all, just because Caesar’s picture is on a coin did not make that coin Caesar’s.
Secondly, God owns everything, and therefore, in reality, Caesar owns nothing.
God created all that exists. The earth is His Footstool. He owns the cattle on a thousands hills—and the hills too! “The earth is the Lord’s and all the fulness thereof; the world and all they that dwell therein.”
“Give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s”, technically, ultimately, means Give Caesar nothing and give God everything. However, Christ was not giving a lesson in deeper theology or “Government 101”, and He did not want to stir up trouble (which is the only reason that He had Peter go pay the minor tax for Himself and for Peter; the other disciples being under the age required, it would seem).
Christ was avoiding the Pharisees’ entrapping questions to avoid being scandalized, being “outed” as the Messiah—God Himself, before the right time (whereas, the corrupt, godless Pharisees probably thought that He was merely trying to save His own Neck—little did they know,
“14I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. 15As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My Life for the sheep. 16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:* them also I must bring, and they shall hear My Voice; and there shall be One Fold, and One Shepherd. 17Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My Life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have Power to lay it down, and I have Power to take it again. This Commandment have I received of My Father”. (John 10)
[* that is, the very reason for which He was training His disciples; for their main mission: to seek out the true lost sheep of God’s people, whither He had scattered them throughout the world; whence He Promised to regather them: which is the true meaning of the “Great Commission” (which likewise, is misunderstood by 99% of all “Christians”).]
The Prophecies had to be fulfilled exactly and Jesus had to die in a very specific manner in order to fulfill all the Prophecies and be an acceptable Sacrifice before God for the sins of the elect of His people. Thus, Christ would be rendered ineligible and unable to be the Messiah / Redeemer / Saviour of the elect of God’s people if Christ died in any other manner; such as if He were stoned to death, or thrown off a cliff, both of which the Jews attempted; though Christ used supernatural means to pass through them to prevent His being killed in any manner other than: “not a bone of His shall be broken” though “all My bones are out of joint” and that He would be crucified (“they pierced My Hands and My Feet”; “they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced”) on a certain day (between thieves, soldiers casting lots for His garment) at a certain time after the proper trials (the trial of the Edomite-Pharisees and corrupt High Priest, which was illegal; and the trial of the Roman Governor, Pilate*).
[* Pilate knew that Christ was not guilty; and Pilate even was struck with terror when he realized, not that Christ was a king, but that He was God. Pilate tried to free Christ several times; and only consented to have Him punished (having Him scourged, thinking that would appease the wicked Jews; the scourging literally plowing the flesh open, and many criminals that were scourged died before they could be crucified). Pilate then consented to have Christ crucified when he realized that Christ said nothing in His own defense to clear His own Name. Pilate noticed that Christ would not help him exonerate Himself; and without that evidence Pilate could not lawfully declare Him not guilty. Furthermore, the Jews, it seems had Pilate blackmailed and threatened to accuse Pilate himself of conspiracy against Caesar. For far-greater detail, see my book, Sacred Truth Expository Commentary: The Gospel of John 18-21: Passover, The Betrayal, Arrest, Jewish & Roman Trials, Crucifiction, Resurrection, Post-Resurrection, & Ascension of our Lord, and Pentecost, with a Harmony of the Gospels, the Making of the Apostle Peter, and the Intricate Depth of Irony Revealed, 800pp., pb. 40.00 + P&H.]
Question: Why are the words of Christ in many Bibles printed in red ink?
Answer: So “Christians” will know which words to violate and twist and misinterpret more flagrantly and more blasphemously.
The only true Biblical Interpretation is to find the harmony; not to moronically assume contradiction. God makes no mistakes; He does not “Change His Mind”,* He does not contradict Himself. False doctrine is sin. Violating Scripture is sin. The Word of God does not change. God’s Law does not change.** Morality does not change (morality was established each time God said, “Thou shalt not” and “This shalt thou do”). Christ was in all things without sin. He never contradicted a single thing in the Word of God. Whenever Christ or the Apostles declared, “Thus saith the Scriptures...” they were talking about and quoting the Old Testament (and “all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God...”)—which was not abolished, did not pass away, has no expiration date (does not “go bad” like an orange or tomato or cucumber left in the back of the drawer of a refrigerator). The Old and New Testaments are in complete harmony and Christ never said a thing to contradict or change the Old Testament or God’s Law—and those who think otherwise reveal that they do not know Christ’s Voice and that they are not His sheep; but follow the voice of a stranger (Antichrist).
[* See my book, Does God Repent? — Can God Change His Mind?, 506pp., 25.00 + P&H.
** John wrote (in one of the last books of the Bible to be written, written even after the Book of Revelation): “He that saith, I know Him [God], and keepeth not His Commandments [His Law], is a liar, and the Truth is not in him” (I John 2:4). Jesus said, “I am the ... Truth”. Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of Truth”. Can a person be a Christian if he does not even know God and if Christ / the Holy Spirit is not in Him? Keeping the Law is not part of salvation—it never was. The Law is God’s “House Rules” that He commanded His children obey throughout all their generations forever. Those who violate what God commanded don’t have the Holy Spirit in them (Who will renew the mind, give understanding of the Word of God, convict of sin, and lead into obedience) and do not know God, because if they knew Him they would fear Him knowing that He is Holy and Just and must punish sin. Those who violate what He commanded and do not receive chastening from God, God declares, are not His children—but bastards! Obeying what God commanded (His Law, which never changes) is evidence of regeneration. It demonstrates one being an honorable son, whom the Father will bless and cause to inherit of Him. Obedience does not cause a person to be born. Birth (or rebirth / regeneration) is the result of the Father’s Will in procreation! A tree bearing an apple does not make it an apple tree; apple trees bear apples because that is what the Creator ordained for them to bear! This is not rocket science. It is simple logic. The vast majority of those who can’t understand it have a spiritual problem, not a mental / intellectual problem (though the latter also may not be ruled out in some cases). Your Lord is the one you obey (obedience is doing what you were commanded; not doing what you want to do instead or picking and choosing which orders you will “obey”). “Christians” who think that God abolished His Law do not have God as their Lord. They think that they are their own lord. They don’t know Him; they don’t fear Him; they are devoid of His Spirit. See my book, Ten Commandments For Youth —For Everyone! For Youth and Young-minded Adults - An Explanation of the Ten Commandments and A Memory System using Bible Numerics; c.440pp., 6.25 x 9.25, pb., 25.00 + P&H.]
To those who think that sinning against God is a “non-issue” and that God’s Law is “unimportant” and that God will not judge anyone like that “old, hateful, vengeful, old-fashioned God of the Old Testament”...
We now return you to your previously scheduled program...!